Sarah's Health Notes: Get fit for life – even in the dark days of January
When the days are dark, damp and cold and the sofa’s calling, it can be hard to get back to doing some exercise – however much Christmas cake you know you consumed…. So I asked Gia Mills, founder of cosmetic brand Skin in Motion, make-up artist and marathon runner, to give us her personal tips on easing ourselves back into fitness. As she says, ‘if you get in the habit of being active every day, you find you’re doing it with hardly any effort. And you feel so great!’
Health professionals often say that if exercise were a drug it would have been patented long ago for its numerous proven benefits to mind and body (and we can add in face, think of that rosy glow as skin is oxygenated). As Gia says, ‘if we’ve learnt one thing over the pandemic, it’s that looking after our own health is a powerful tool in preventing illness and exercise of all sorts is a key part of this.’
Stacks of research shows that being active, particularly out in the fresh air looking at nature, has as significant an effect on your mind as on your body. ‘It’s a wonderfully healing activity,’ says Gia, adding that ‘American psychologist Professor Michael Otto has said that you get a mood enhancement effect within five minutes after taking moderate exercise. Since January is a high spot for low mood, now is a great time to start over.’
Levels of anxiety and depression have risen significantly during the pandemic but a study carried out during the first lockdown showed that both High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and also, which is more relevant to most of us, Moderate-Intensity Training (MIT) decreased anxiety, stress and depression. Participants exercised for 40-minute sessions six days a week – think a brisk daily walk or on days when the weather’s awful, bop around the kitchen, as Gia explains below.
One way to get motivated to keep to a routine is to find an exercise buddy. As Gia says, ‘’it’s often more enjoyable with a friend to chat with (even if you’re huffling and puffling…) and it’s much harder to pull out of that walk, run or class because you’ll be letting your friend down.’
If you have a competitive streak, planning ahead for a specific event gives you a sense of purpose. And again, joining up with one or more friends can help keep you all motivated.
Gia’s suggestions should be suitable for most people to do at any stage of fitness. But if you have any pre-existing conditions, do check with your health professional first; also stop if any part of you hurts during or after you do the exercises.
1. Shake up your circulation first thing. This takes a minute tops. Get out of bed, stand up straight, feet a hip width apart and vigorously shake your hands up and down, side to side, waving your arms up and down and round as you do so. Then add in one leg at a time. Feel the buzz!
2. Stretch your spine daily. Stand up straight with your back flat against a wall. (If you can’t find a real wall, imagine one!) Tuck your chin in to your chest, let your hands drop in front of you and curl your spine down until you can touch your toes, peeling your back away from the ‘wall’. Then reverse the process, folding your back all the way up against the wall. Repeat two or three times.
If you’re a yoga bunny, the cat/cow pose is a lovely one to mobilise a stagnant spine. Do five reps, breathing in to a count of five and out to five.
3. Dress the part. If you’re WFH and at weekends, put on clothes that you can exercise in when you get up in the morning. Even if you have an online meeting you can pop a scarf or jacket over the top bit.
3. Stride out! You don’t need a hard core, sweaty making workout to get your blood flowing and your body warmed up, however cold the day. A brisk 20 to 30 minute walk is just the ticket. Wrap up warm and head for your nearest park or green space. Use your senses: listen to bird song, see the frost on the plants and the colours in the sky, sniff the earth and winter blossom.
4. Strictly go dancing! Dancing is proven to be one of the best forms of exercise for brain and body, increasing energy levels that generally slump in the winter. So consider joining a class and also DIY at home. When the weather’s truly dreadful, I love doing a dance around the kitchen any time of the day but specially on a dark wet windy morning. It might even get you out of bed! Even if it’s hard to fling off the duvet, get up and do your stretches (1 and 2 above) then tune in to your favourite bopping music - club dance anthems or rock-tunes (Bruce Springsteen ‘Dancing in the Dark’, anyone?), Viennese walzes or tangos if that’s your thing. You’ll find your feet tapping and hips swinging in a trice. If you have stairs, incorporate them in the routine. It’s great for perking you up if you’re slumping round teatime too.
5. Find your happy time for a class. I generally can’t face a workout or class of any kind after a long day at work so I schedule them in the morning, physically writing it in the calendar so it’s A Thing. I treat it as a meeting with myself. Try to make regular sessions so that it becomes a habit.
